This invention relates to a pipe wrapping machine, and in particular to a manually operated machine for wrapping pipes with tape or other material in strip form.
The vast majority of commercially available pipe wrapping machines are bulky, electrically or mechanically operated machines, which are not adapted for ready use in the field. Moreover, the wrapping machines of the prior art are not adapted to wrap pipes completely to their ends. Usually, it is necessary to wrap the pipe ends manually.
Examples of prior art devices are disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,361,014, issued to M. J. Crass on Oct. 24, 1944; 2,726,705, issued to P. F. Marx et al on Dec. 13, 1955; 3,000,167, issued to P. Pierce, Jr., on Sept. 19, 1961; 3,374,615, issued to J. Evanicsko, Jr., on Mar. 26, 1968; 4,008,114, issued to C. P. Lindsey on Feb. 15, 1977; and 4,069,088, issued to S. D. Cottam on Jan. 17, 1978. It will be noted that most of the apparatus are somewhat heavy and complicated.
It is readily apparent that there exists a need for a simple pipe wrapping machine, which can be operated manually and which can be used to wrap the pipe substantially completely to its end. The object of the present invention is to provide a machine which is relatively uncomplicated, and which is capable of wrapping more or less the entire length of a pipe.